Hugo: A Title Forgotten By Amala Benny Hugo by Martin Scorsese , based on the novel ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ by Brian Selznick, has enthralled viewers around the globe with its technical brilliancy, stunning visual effects and its moving tribute towards the origin of cinema. The opening scene is a testament as to why the movie was awarded an Oscar for cinematography. The transforming of the intricate clockwork mechanism into the beautiful streets of Paris was simply breathtaking. But where it emerges victorious warrior in the arena of visual effects, it turns out to be a cunning con artist in playing with our expectations. The movie explores the dream like aspect of cinemas and hence is a bit dream …show more content…
At least this is what we are led to believe during the first half of the movie, but then the plot changes! It is no longer about Hugo’s quest but is a history lesson about cinema. Although interesting on its own, one is left with a vague feeling of dissatisfaction when the movie refuses to return to the little hero. Instead it half heartedly allocates a purpose to Hugo which is fixing things and continues meandering down to the life and times of Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley). The mark of a protagonist or any round character is character development. The characters should grow as the film progresses and at the end should be better versions of themselves. But Hugo does not undergo any significant character transformation. The underlying theme of finding a purpose is instead realized through Papa Georges who at the end realizes his own value and takes back his rightful position in the society as Georges Melies. In this sense, he is the real hero of the …show more content…
But the majority of the movie was shot in a way as to lead us to believe that it is Hugo Cabret’s story. Unfortunately it is not. He is merely a medium Scorsese uses to divert one to the history of cinema and make one admire their dream like quality. Here, he resorts to the aid of technology, and the result is quite stunning, one has to admit. The drawings which become animated when the cabinet falls from Isabella’s hand, letting the papers fly, and the dream within a dream sequence, are all effective in capturing the dream like quality of films that fans of Melies admire. The movie is also, in a sense, a biopic of Georges Melies – it is a tribute that touches the heart and evokes the much awaited empathetic connection to the movie. The recreation of his earlier movies, like the 1902 production ‘Man on the Moon’, and the final scene where he himself becomes a part of his beloved cinemas evokes a sense of wonder, respect and gratification. The movie is a success in that
Perhaps an even stronger testament to the deepness of cinema is Darren Aronofsky’s stark, somber Requiem for a Dream. Centering on the drug-induced debasement of four individuals searching for the abstract concept known as happiness, Requiem for a Dream brims with verisimilitude and intensity. The picture’s harrowing depiction of the characters’ precipitous fall into the abyss has, in turn, fascinated and appalled, yet its frank, uncompromising approach leaves an indelible imprint in the minds of young and old alike.
Run Lola Run, is a German film about a twenty-something woman (Lola) who has 20 minutes to find $100,000 or her love (Manni) will be killed. The search for the money is played through once with a fatal ending and one would think the movie was over but then it is shown again as if it had happened ten seconds later and changed everything. It is then played out one last time. After the first and second sequence, there is a red hued, narrative bridge. There are several purposes of those bridges that affect the movie as a whole. The film Run Lola Run can be analyzed by using the four elements of mise-en scene. Mise-en-scene refers to the aspects of film that overlap with the art of the theater. Mise-en-scene pertains to setting, lighting, costume, and acting style. For the purpose of this paper, I plan on comparing the setting, costume, lighting, and acting style in the first red hued, bridge to that of the robbery scene. Through this analysis, I plan to prove that the purpose of the narrative bridge in the film was not only to provide a segue from the first sequence to the second, but also to show a different side of personality within the main characters.
Breton also mentioned in the manifesto that the combination of reality and dream could lead to “surreality”. 1 Un Chien Andalou possesses this combination in the way the camera captures the image, and partnering between the objects that we know in our own lives, that are real, with the loss of logic in the actions of the film, which corresponds with dream states.
Dr. Strangelove (1964), an adaptation of Peter Bryant’s novel Red Alert, although still bearing the usual traits of a Kubrick film, is something of a departure for him in terms of editing and spatial strategies. The film’s run-time more or less corresponds with the fictional or represented time in the story. This direct correspondence between fictional and real time adds to the sense of temporal compression induced by the film’s insistent editing patterns. Although Dr. Strangelove employs many long takes, it contains the shortest average-shot-length of any Kubrick film. The film consists of roughly 700 shots and has a run time of 94 minutes for an average-shot-length of 8 seconds. Despite the rather short average-shot-length, Dr. Strangelove still resorts to crucial long takes to slow down the rapid momentum of the story (Falsetto, 35).
Canadian filmmaker and cinephile, Guy Maddin once said, “I do feel a bit like Dracula in Winnipeg. I’m safe, but can travel abroad and suck up all sorts of ideas from other filmmakers… Then I can come back here and hoard these tropes and cinematic devices.” Here, Maddin addresses his filmmaking saying that he takes aspects from different film styles and appropriates them into his own work. In The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Maddin uses a combination of French Surrealist filmmaking and classical American Hollywood cinema, specifically melodrama, to create his own style. In an article by William Beard, Steven Shaviro talks about Maddin’s filmmaking, and he links Surrealism and melodrama together saying, “Maddin’s films are driven by a tension between romantic excess [melodrama] on the one hand and absurdist humour [Surrealism] on the other.” In regards to The Saddest Music in the World, the relationship between Surrealism and melodrama is not one of tension, as Shaviro suggests, but one of cooperation. This paper will analyze two films by filmmakers Maddin was familiar with —Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali on the Surrealist side, and All That Heaven Allows (1955) by Douglas Sirk on the melodrama side—to showcase the important elements of each, concluding with an analysis of The Saddest Music in the World in conjunction with both film styles. Ultimately, it will be shown how Guy Maddin combines French Surrealist cinema and Hollywood melodrama in The Saddest Music in the World, to create his own unique film style.
As the era of literature slowly declines, the expert critiques and praise for literature are lost. Previously, novels were bursting at the seams with metaphors, symbolism, and themes. In current times, “novels” are simply short stories that have been elaborated on with basic plot elements that attempt to make the story more interesting. Instead of having expert critical analysis written about them, they will, most likely, never see that, as recent novels have nothing to analyze. Even books are beginning to collect dust, hidden away and forgotten, attributing to the rise of companies such as Spark Notes. An author deserves to have his work praised, no matter how meager and the masses should have the right to embrace it or to reject it. As much of this has already been considered, concerning Les Misérables, the purpose of this paper is to compare, contrast, and evaluate Victor Hugo’s use of themes and characterization in his novel, Les Misérables.
His ambitions are what isolate him and bring to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated from everyone, including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge.
The portrayal of art cinema is to some extent accurate when considering the time period of this film. Art film was first introduced to the American film industry during the period of time when this film came out. Art cinema utilizes its own set of artistic expression. Hollywood classical films on the other hand, are at odds with the artistic concept, and are considered to be mainstream. When we look at Classical films, we think of the basic Hollywood movie where there is a beginning, middle and end, and the whole movie comes together at the end, with a little bit of romance. In this specific movie, the audience is faced with a confusing dilemma of choosing whether this movie is an art film or a classical film. Most even think it has a documentary approach, but what makes this movie even more successful and even more entertaining, is that it is both art cinema and classical cinema.
The Alfred Hitchcock film; Vertigo is a narrative film that is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. I will be examining the following characteristics of the film Vertigo: 1)individual characters who act as casual agents, the main characters in Vertigo, 2)desire to reach to goals, 3)conflicts, 4)appointments, 5)deadlines, 6)James Stewart’s focus shifts and 7)Kim Novak’s characters drives the action in the film. Most of the film is viewed in the 3rd person, except for the reaction shots (point of view shot) which are seen through the eyes of the main character.(1st person) The film has a strong closure and uses continuity editing(180 degree rule). The stylistic (technical) film form of Vertigo makes the film much more enjoyable. The stylistic film form includes camera movements, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and props.
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
...e of pain for himself, demonstrating how he is truly a tragic hero. In life, one can either choose to succumb to the selfish pressures inside of themselves, or find the will power to overcome them. As proved by Victor Frankenstein, it is most likely to see past the flaw when it is too late. Although it might be too late, the realization is crucial for one’s ability to keep growing as an individual. Victor was able to see past his own life and make choices to benefit everyone else. Life is all about choices and timing; one wrong move and one’s entire future is obliterated. Not only does one destroy their own life this way, but everyone’s life close to them also. The heroes in stories are not all that different from people in the real world; every individual can be a hero, what which type of hero defines us as a whole.
The protagonist of the novel is Victor Frankenstein. Victor has a hard time coping with life after the death of his mother. His inability to cope only gets worse with the creation of his monster. He constantly becomes ill and lives in solitude. His life is a sad story. His mother died when he was young. He creates monster that is responsible for the death of his good friend and his beloved wife. Because of the horrible news of the death of Victor’s wife, Victor’s father dies. Another important character is the monster. The monster’s life is also sad. Because of his appalling appearance, humans are afraid of him, so he is forced to be alone. When he finds a family that he believes will accept him, the family forces him to leave. However, the monster is also evil because he murders several people. Another important character is Alphonse Frankenstein, Victor’s father. Alphonse is a good father. He does what he can to console Victor and helps him become a happier person.
The 18th century has marked the commencement of the innovation of cinematography. The invention of cinema owes its existence to a few investors and scientists who are broadly known for laying down its foundation. Among those pioneers are the Lumiere brothers who were some of the earliest contributors to cinema, inventing the first real film camera called the "cinematographe", which effectively functioned as a camera, projector and printer all in one (Barnauw, 1993:6). Thus giving rise to the art of film making. Initially, in the early years of cinema since there was no developed structure [or language] to tell cinematic stories, the early Lumiere brother?s films such as Workers leaving the Lumiere factory (1895) and The Arrival of a Train at the Station (1895), were composed of a single shot, no camera movement and only one continuous action from beginning to end (Obalil, 2007).
Victor Frankenstein changes over the course of the novel from an innocent youth fascinated by science into a guilt-ridden man determined to destroy his creation. Whether it is his desire to have the godlike power to create new life or his avoiding the types of sciences done in public, Victor’s lack of humanness is his downfall. He isolates himself from the world and eventually he dedicates himself with a nonhuman obsession will getting revenge on his creation. At the end of the novel, Victor tells his story to Robert Walton and then dies. With multiple narrators and multiple perspectives, the novel gives the reader contrasting versions of Victor: the classic mad scientist, who destroys all boundaries without concern, and the brave adventurer of unknown sciences, who should not to be held responsible for the consequences of his explorations.
...director did not limit the film to its historical context but extended the same to romance and fantasy. From a different angle of view, the director made use of the theme to communicate with the viewers and the fictional characters can be considered as his tools. Besides, ample importance is given to historical and fictional characters. In short, the amalgamation of history, fantasy and romance constituted much to the film’s importance as a historical/fictional masterpiece.